Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party turns a damp squib in J&K polls

Srinagar, Oct 8 (PTI) The Awami Ittehad Party led by Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid, who proved a giant slayer after he defeated former chief minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 parliamentary elections, has failed to make much impact in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.

Rashid, who won while incarcerated in Tihar Jail on terror funding charges, attempted to demonstrate that his parliamentary win was not merely a fluke. However, he failed to strike a chord with the voters in the first assembly polls after the abrogation of Article 370.

After being granted interim bail on September 10, the Baramulla MP was allowed to campaign until October 2. His bail was later extended, enabling him to actively participate in the electoral process.

Despite his efforts, the majority of candidates associated with his party lost their deposits, indicating a clear disapproval from the electorate.

The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) had fielded 44 candidates. Even prominent figures, including AIP spokesperson Firdous Baba and businessman Sheikh Ashiq Hussain, lost the polls.

However, Rashid’s brother Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, who contested from Langate, managed to win the seat.

Before his foray into mainstream politics, Rashid was known for his separatist leanings and was involved with the Peoples’ Conference, where he advocated for the ‘Azadi’ sentiment through articles and columns.

With a diploma in civil engineering, he served over a decade in the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation before entering politics.

Rashid first contested the assembly elections in 2008 as an independent candidate from the Langate constituency in Kupwara district, winning the seat again in 2014.

His tenure as an MLA was fraught with controversy, including a physical assault by BJP legislators in 2015 for hosting a party that allegedly served beef, and an incident where he was attacked with ink by BJP workers following his comments on the lynching of a Kashmiri truck driver.